Means for operating the rolls of corn-husking machines



oet. zo, 1925.

T. H. OPPENHEIM ET AL MEANS FOR OPERATING-THE ROLLS OF CORN HUSKING MACHINES Filed Dec. 22 1924 5 sheetsneet 1 tbv @ttor wat?, f

T. "H. OPPENHEIM ET AL MEANS 'FOR OPERATING THE RoLLs oF conn HUsKING MACHINES Oct. 20, 1925- Filed Dec. 22. 1924 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Oct. 20, 1925 1,557,768

T. H. OPPENHEIM ET AL MEANS FOR OPERATING THE ROLLS OF CORN HUSKING MACHINES Filed Dec. 22, 1924 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Oct. 20, 1925 T. H. OPPENHEEM ET AL MEANS FOR OPERATING THE ROLLS of' CORN HUSKING MACHINES lll' amando Filed Dec. 22. 1924 5 Sheets-Shao?. 4

Oct. 20, i925 v T, H. PPNHEHM ET AL MEANS FOR oPERgxTLNG THE ROLLS 0F CORN Husum; MACHINES Filed Dec, 22,Y 1924 5 sheets-Smet s me/nim,

Patented Oct. 270, 1925.

' UNITED. STATES I 1,557,768*- PAT EN T oFfFIcE..

vTHEQDORE H. oPrENHnIM AND BERNARD ysnnionstl,l -or ooLnwnrrnn, omo, As-

' sIGNoRs To NEW IDEA sPREADER C0., or COLDWATER, oHIo, A C'oRPonnTIoNVOF OHIO.

`IVIEANS IIEOR.l OIEERATING THE ROLLS OF CORN-HUSKING MACHINES.

Application led December 22, 1924.r Serial` No. 757,533.

To all ywhom t may concern.'

Be it known that we, THnoDoRE H. Or- PENHEIM and BERNARD SELHoRs'r, citizens of the United States, residing at Coldwater, in the county of Mercer and Stateof hio, have invented certain new and useful lmrovements in Means for Operating the olls of Corn-Husking Machines, of which the following is a specification.

Our present invention has for one object the provision of means whereby7 all the rolls of a corn-husking machine may be driven from a single shaft, and another object of the invention is to `provide improved means for yieldably holding the rolls in engagement with the stalks or other bodies passing between them'while keeping'the rolls in gear. The invention. also has for an object the provision of means whereby wear upon the gears will be minimized.

. Other objects will appear incidentally in the course' of the following'description and the invention resides in certain nove'l'fea` tures which will be particularly pointedY out in the appended claims.

ln the accompanying drawings:

Figure l is a plan view, partly broken away and with some parts removed, of the 'rolls of a corn-husking machine illustrating our present invention;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the same;

3 is an end elevation, partly broken away, of the upper ends of the ksnapping rolls;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged longitudinal section of the mounting forthe rollswhich is shown in F ig. 3;

Fig. 5 is an enlargedplan view, partly broken away, of the mounting for the lower ends of the husking rolls; y

E ig. 6 is a plan view of the housing for the central driving gearing, with parts in section on the line 6-6 of Fig; 2;

Fig. 7 is a plan view ofthefhousing for the upper ends of the snapping rolls;

Fig. 8 is a section on the line 8 8 of Fig. 9 is a section on the line 9-9 of Fig. 8, and

Fig. 10 is an end elevation of the housinn` for the central driving gearing.

ln the drawings, the reference numeral 1 indicates the side bars of a supporting frame or bed for the rolls and 2 designates the shaft carrying the cutter head 3, by the operation of .which the stalksA or Aother bodies passing between the. snapping rolls are `cut into short lengths suitable forv The cutterheadmay be of any ap-l provedr construction and isr drivenr from a fodder.

motor which is connected by a suitable driving belt .with a driving pulley upon the cutter head shaft. Upon one end of the shaft 2 is secureda sprocket about whichis trained a chain 4 which is'also trained about a large sprocket 5` upon one end of' a shaft which is disposed ktransversely of the frame and passes betweenthelower ends of the snapping rolls and the upper ends of the husking rolls to constitute kthe maindriving element for all the rolls. 'Referring more particularly to Fig. 1,'it will be noted that we have illustrated two lsets of snapping rolls 7 and three sets of husking rolls 8. The particular number of snapping rolls and huskingrolls is, of course, immaterial and the particular configuration of the rolls is of no moment for the purposes of our present invention. The rolls areJ disposed in pairs and in the operation of the machine the stalksy are fed to and pass ybetween the members rof a pair of snapping rolls, the ears'ofcorn being snapped therefrom. The ears of corn pass by gravity to and beyond the'I lower'l ends of the snappingv rolls and are directed onto the husking rolls which grip the husks and feed the saine between the rolls, the cleaned ears of.` corn.

passing longitudinally over the rolls and being delivered at -the rear end of the ma.` chine. The sprocket 5 is locked to the shaft 6 at will by a clutch` which'is indicated at GOA and controlled by a rod 6l having a han-' dle located within convenient reach of kthe operator at theend of the vmachine. If van operator or other person approaches too nions:3 indicated at 10, and upon the lowerY trun'nions we'secure bevel gears 11 which mesh with they opposite sides of the double driving gear 9, as clearly shown in Fig. 1.

Upon the trunnions 10, at the upper ends of mounted upon the stub shaft 16, meshing with the gear 13 and a gear 18 mounted upon the stub shaft 15, meshing with the gear 12. 'lhe gear 18 is located outwardly beyond the 'gear 17 as will be readily understoodupon reference to Fig. 1, but the gear 17 meshes with a gear v19 which is mounted upon the shaft 15 and is fixed to or formed integral with the gear 18, as shown in Fig. 2. lt will thus be seen that the inner snapping roll is positively driven through the gears 9 and 11 and the outer snappingA roll is in turn driven throughV the train of gearing at the upper ends of the rolls and comprising the gears 13, 17, 19, 18 and 12. This train of gearing is very eihcient inasmuch as the outer snapping roll is mounted for sliding movement relative to the inner snapping roll, as will be presently set forth, and the sliding of the outer roll will not destroy the intermeshing engagement of the gears, the gear 12 rolling upon the gear 18 as the snapping roll moves inwardly or outwardly, and consequently the rotation of the rolls will be uninterrupted.

Outwardlyy beyond the gears 11, bevel gears 20 are secured upon the shaft 6 and have their hubs suitably journaled in bearings 21 secured upon the side bars of the frame. These gears 20 mesh with bevel geais 22 secured upon ti'unnions 23 at the upper ends of some ot the husking rolls 8 and the lower ends of the husking rolls are operatively connected through spur' gears 24, shown in Figs. 1 and 2. lt will be noted vthat the gears 20 are reversed with respect to each other so that the husking rolls are rotated in the proper direction, the rotation of the positively driven huskiiig roll being imparted to the mating husking roll through 'the gears at the lower ends of the rolls in substantially the saine manner as the motion is imparted to the snapping rolls through the upper ends oi the latter. it will be seen at Aonce that we have provided a compact train of gearing whereby all the rolls are driven from, a single shaiit and this gearing is disposed between the opposed ends of the rolls so that it occupies but very little space in the corn-husking machine and may be supported by the frame oi' the machine at such point that breaking of the gears through chance blows of extraneous objects` will be minimized. It will also be noted that we drive our husking rolls` from the cutter head shaft so that the number of moving parts is less than in other machines for the saine purpose now known to us. Y

Secured upon and extending across the husking machine frame are yokes 25 which carry the bearings for the several rolls, the yokes being provided at bothV the upper and lower ends of the snapping rolls as well as the husking rolls. These yokes are sub s-tantial duplicates in construction and the description oi' one will suiiice for all. Each yoke consists of a lower bar 26 which is secured rigidly to the frame of the cornhusking machine, and an upper bar 27 which is of the saine form and dimensions as the lower bar and is arranged parallel therewith. The outer ends of the bars 26 and 27 are turned downwardly and upwardly, re-v spectively, as shown at 28, and a cap plate 29 is secured to these turned or bent ends orp the bars. The trunnions or shafts of the rolls are journaled in bearing* blocks orboXes v30 which lit closely between the yoke members26 and 27 and that block or box which receives the trunnion or journal 'of the outer roll has its upper and lower sides grooved whereby it may slidably engage the yoke bars 26 and 27 as will be readily understood by reference to Fig. 1. rlhe block or box receiving the trunnion or shaft of the inner roll is, however, held against lat eral movement by the stay bolts 31 inserted through the said bars adjacent the sides of the boX, as shown most clearly in Fig. 4. It will be readily understood that by this arrangement the outer roll may yield to the thickness of a stalk or other article passing between the rolls so that the proper operation of the parts will be eii'ected. lVhile it is highly desirable that the outer roll may yield to the stalk or other member passing between the rolls, it is also necessary to maintain the rolls in such relation that the stalk will be properly engaged and fed through by them. To maintaintliis operative relation of' the rolls, tension springs are now generally employed, but they are not entirely satisfactory, for the reason that they are constantly under tension and when the movable roll is relievedot the pressure or" a stalk or a husk passing between the rolls, it is returned` to its position close to the relatively stationary roll with such force that the rolls are subjected lto violent contact and are frequently damaged. In

vour present invention, we provide a pressure head 32 which is slidable within the yokecontact is minimized and wear upon the parts is, therefore, obviated. "A thimble or tubular projection or 'socket 34 is formed upon the outer face of the head 32 at the center thereof and a stem 35 `is threaded into the said socket, as shown clearly 'in Fig. 4. The 'stem extends outwardly through the cap plate 29 and is equipped at its outer extremity with a nut 36, as shown. Threaded through the capplate 29 and surrounding the stem 35 is a sleeve nut 37 having an annularr shoulder 38 near 'its inner end, the end of the nut inwardly beyond said shoulder being smooth, as Ashown atg39. 'coiled spring 40 is disposed around the vstem 35 between the shoulder 38 and the outer face of the head 32 vand its ends vfit around the socket 34 and the smooth extremity 39 ofthe sleeve nut. whereby it will be properly centered. The outer extremity of the sleeve nut 37 is formedwith'flat faces 41 to be engaged by a wrenchfor other turning tool in order that the proper tension may be placed upon the spring '40, and at the outer end ofthe iat-facedporti'on 4l is an abutment .plate 42, Va similar `abutment plate 43 being provided at the'base of the nut 36 and a` coiled spring being provided around the outer end of the stem 35 between the said abutmentplates'42 and 43, as'shown in Fig. 4. lWhen the outer roll moves outwardly under the .pressure exerted thereon by a stalk or husk 'passing between the pair of rolls, the `spring-40 "will be compressed against the shoulder 38 of thef'sleeve nut 37. When lthe pressure of the stalk is removed, the spring 40, of course, expands and returns the roll to itsV innerinostiposi-l tion. The outward1V `movement ofthe roll and the resulting outward movement rof lthe stem 35 will, of course, relieve thepressure up'on Athe spring 44 which will expand,but when the return'move'mentis imparted to the roll Aby the 'expansion' of the springk 40, the lspring 44 will be compressed and. will, therefore,-serve to check or 'cushion thereturn movement 4and `ov'ercomefthe tendency of the roll tor-contact forcibly withthe rela-V tively stationary roll.v l/Ve thusavoid ,slamming, friction and breakage of the rolls, while kat the same time permitting the needed relative movement of them and maintaining the proper engagement of the rolgls with the stalks or other parts which are to pass between them. If so desired, la .cushion spring 45 may be arranged between the vbox 30 'carrying the outer roll andthe ladjacent bolt 31 which restrains the inner roll from sliding movement. 'Ordinarily,.. however, Ithe 'spring 44 will accomplish the result un'- aided, but it will vbe understood rthat 'either the 'spring 544 or the spring 45 may be em ployed without involving any departure from our invention or any' change in the operation of the mechanism.

Upon reference to Fig. l,"it will benoted that a. considerable space appears vbetween the two pair of snapping rolls. In actual practice, this space is covered by a deflect ing or dividing bar whereby the bundles of co-rnare guided to the snapping rolls, but such dividing bar forms no part ofour present invention and has been omitted for the sake of clear-ness; The arrangement devised by us for driving the -snapping rolls simplifies the construction, minimizes the working parts land permits vthe bevel gears to be arranged inl opposed relation so that the torsional strain thereon is neutralized, the' gearing working easily and beingl constantly balanced. We also accommodatea. very considerable shifting lof the Vslidalole roll without causing the gears togetout of mesh and are enabled to placethe snappingrolls Vin a. :nearly vertical position without imposing any excessive strain upon any of the gears or upon the rolls. As yhas been stated, the main rolldriving shaft is itself driven yfrom the cut-Iter head. ln actual practice, we provide sprockets upon the said roll driving shaft at the end thereof remote from the sprocket 5 so that the motionof the shaft will be transmitted to the ear conveyer and to the shaking screen which are mounted in the lower portion of the cornhusking machine, `so that we have a unitary drive for all the operating parts.

The sleeve nut 34 1s adjustable through A the cap plate 29 to impart the proper working tension to the spring 40. After the proper tension has been put upon the spring 40, the nut 36 is rotated so that it pulls'the. stem 35 outwardly until'the bearing for the outer roll is free and no pressure is on the rolls. between the rolls the movable rollbearing will move outwardly and push theV stem 35 in the same direction, the nut 36, of course, moving outwardly therewith. When thel stalk. has passed` through the machine, return movement of` the bearing will ,bei checked by the compression of the spring'40, as above described. It will bel seen that, while our device applies the desired pressure when anything ispassing betweenthe rolls,

the-tension is taken oftl v'therolls after the object has passed and the` life of the lbearings prolonged.

The plate 14. forms thebottom of a gearcasing, the end walls of which are ,provid-ed by the extended portions o-f gusset plates 46l which are secured to the upper corners of the main frame. The bottom plate vis provided vwith a flange 47 along its `edges whereby it may be easily bolted to the gusset plates, andthe gusset plates are provided Then when a stalk or a husk passes lill) at their upper ends with flanges 43 to faciliv tate placing Vand securing the top plate 49, the top vplatefhaving openingstherein, t0

Y v receive and support. the 'ends of the stub .r

shafts 15 and 16. The bottom of the gear casing is provided by a plate which is bolted or riveted to the anges of the plate 14 and the gusset plates, while a cover 51 isprovidedy for the front ot the gear case. The cover is hinged, as at 52, to theV top plate 49 and is'in the forni of an open box adapted to lit over and enclose the gearing and rest at its tree edge upon the flange oi' the bottom plate 14. A platew is secured upon and extendsacross the main frame below the yoke 25 and abutting the bottom plate 1l to reinforce thel latter.

The gear caseconstitutes a. grease pan toy and the unsubmerged portion receiving sulii-v cient lubricant from `the submerged part. To accommodate the trunnion ot' the movable roll, the. plate 14 is slotted, as at 541, and a slide is fitted about the trunnion to move therewith and cover the slot at all times to prevent leakage. lVhen cleaning Vof the pan is necessary, the top plate is removed thereby giving access to the gears which may be easily withdrawn, wl'iereupon the grease may be scraped from the pan. When the gears and top plate have been restored, it is a very simple matter to pour grease into the pan.

Between the side bars of the main frame, we provide a pan or trough 56V below the main shaft 6, the ends otl this pan being secured to the trame side bars in any preferred manner and being provided in their upper edges with notches 57 to lit closely about the shaft. A sealing plate 5S is secured upon the front wall ot the pan to cover the slots 59 provided for the trunnions of the husking rolls and prevent leakage of the lubricant placed in the pan. A box-liliecover 62 is secured upon the pan with lits endvvvalls overlapping the end walls of the pan about the shaft, vas shown in Fig.y 10, and in the top ot the cover are slots 63 to accommodate the trunnions of the driving snapping rolls. These slots are normally covered by a plate 611 which is removable to permit the lubricant to be replenished through the slots.

Secured to the machine trame so as to enclose the gears 24 is a boX 64 which has a bottom, front, back, and end walls, and is located directly beneath the shield 65 by which the earsofcorn are directed from the husking rolls onto the ear conveyer, said shield serving as a cover for the box.

It will be noted that the gearing torv the rolls is all enclosed so that they are protected from damage due to objects falling upon any of the parts, will be vkept from dirt falling from. above as well as dust rising from below, and` will run in lubricant so that they will operate easily and with minimum wear. l

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is:

1. 1n a corn-husling machine, the combinationot snapping rolls, huslring rolls, a driving shaft disposed.transversely of the machine between the opposed ends ott-he huslring rolls and the snapping rolls, op-n posed Uears carried by said driving shaft, and gears carried by some of the husking rolls and some of the snapping rolls Vmesh` ing with the opposed gears whereby vall the rolls will be driven. Y .v

2. 1n a corn-huslr-ing machine, the combination of snapping rolls, bushing rollsl arf ranged below and spaced longitudinally from the snapping rolls, a cutterv disposed below the snapping rolls, a roll-driving shaftY arranged transversely of the machine between the lower ends or" thev snappingy rolls and the upper ends of the husking rolls, gearing whereby .said shaft will be driven from the cutter, opposedrgears connecting the shaft with the snapping rolls, and other opposed gea-rs connecting the shaft with the husking rolls.

3. 1n a corn-husking machine, the combination ot snapping rolls, huslring rolls arranged in spaced relation Vto the 'snapping rolls longitudinally of the machine, a roll driving shaft disposed transversely of the machine and between the lower ends of the snapping rolls and the upper ends of the husking rolls, a double bevel gear secured on said shaft at the center thereof, bevel gears arranged at opposite sides of said double bevel gear and meshing therewith i and operatively connected t0 some of the snapping rolls, opposed bevel gears secured upon the shaft outwardly beyond and at Vopposite sidesv of the double bevel gear, bevel gears ymeshing with said opposed bevel gears andoperatively connected with some of the husking rolls, gearing at .the upper ends of the snapping rolls operatively connecting the said rolls in pairs, and'gearing at the lower ends o1c the huslring rolls operatively connecting said4 rolls in pairs, one member ot each pairk Ot rolls being movable toward and from the mating roll. y

4c. 1n a cornhusking machine, the combination of a supporting frame, yolres secured upon and extendingacross said frame, journal'boxes secured in said yolres, rolls journaled in said boxes, means for rotating said rolls, other journal boxes slidably mountedv A in the yolres, rolls journaled in and carried by the slidably mounted journal boxesv to cooperate withthe iirst mentioned rolls, means carried by the yokes for yieldabl-y holding the last mentioned rolls in operative relation to the first mentioned rolls, and

trains of gearing operatively connecting the posed below the ends of the rolls, intermeshing gears on said stub shafts, a gear on the end of one roll meshing with one of said intel-meshing gears, a second gear mounted on one of the stub shafts and fixed to the adjacent gear of the intermeshing gears, and a gear on the upper end of the other roll meshing with the said second gear.

6. In a corn-bushing machine, the combination of yokes Secured upon and extending across the frame of the husking machine, journal boxessecured in said yokes, rolls carried by said journal boxes, means for rotating said rolls, journal boxes slidably mounted in the yokes, rolls carried by the slidably mounted journal boxes, gearing connecting the two rolls, pressure heads mounted in the yokes at the outer sides vof the slidable journal boxes and bearing against theJ same, stems extending from the said heads, sleeve nuts mounted in the -outer ends of the yoles and encircling the stems, and a tension spring disposed about the stem between the said sleeve nut and the pressure head.

7 In a corn-bushing machine, the combination of yokes secured upon the frame of the machine, journalxboxes secured in said yokes, a roll carried by said journalk boxes, means for rotating said roll, other journal boxes slidably mounted lin the yokes, a roll carried by said slidably mounted journal boxes, gearing connecting the rolls, pressure heads mounted in the yokes in the outer sides of the slidable ournal boxes and bearing against the same, tension springs bearing againstsaid heads, means for adjusting the tension springs, and cushion springs acting in opposition to the tension springs.

8. In a corn-husking machine, they combination of yokes securedupon 'and extending across the machine, journal boxes secured 1n the yolres, a roll carried by said journal boxes, means for rotating .said roll, other journal boxes slidably mounted in the yokes, a roll carried by said slidably mounted journal boxes, gearing connecting the rolls, pressure heads mounted in the yokes and bearing against the outer sides of the slidable journal boxes, sleeve nuts mounted inthe outer ends of the yokes, stems extending from the pressure heads Ythrough the sleeve nuts, tension springs disposed around the stems between the sleeve nuts and the pressure heads, nuts on the outer ends of the stems, and cushion springs disposed between said nut-s and the sleeve nuts.

In testimony whereof we affix our signatures.

THEODORE H. OPPENHEIM. BERNARD SELHORST. 

